The present invention relates generally to a bed and a mat unit for use thereon and, more particularly, to a mat unit for a bed which enables the physically handicapped or, in serious cases, one who has difficulty moving in bed without assistance, to lie on his side or back, roll on his side, or raise the upper half of his body, by operating a control device.
The present invention also relates to a bed on which these mat units are used, and to a method for adjusting the position of a bedridden individual.
A variety of beds suitable for the physically handicapped or those confined to bed, have been suggested. However, in the use of these beds, the services of a helper or nurse are generally required to assist the individual in lying down or in rolling over, in bed. However, a bedridden individual is often forced to lie in bed continuously, and can thereby suffer severe pain at night, or while the helper or nurse is absent.
Other kinds of beds have been suggested, such as beds which are transversely slanted or raised in a front portion or rear portion, by mechanical means. However, the patient lying therein will generally be less comfortable than when he is taken care of through human intervention, so that this is inadequate for use in seriously bedridden cases.
Another kind of bed has also been suggested, in which the upper surface of the bed is divided into a plurality of units, each unit adapted to be mechanically, vertically movable, using a motor as a drive source or using a hydraulic cylinder provided in each unit. In such beds, selective adjustable differences in the levels of respective portions of the bed are caused by mechanical adjustment. However, since surface levels of the units are quite different from one another, forming mechanical unevenness along the overall surface of the bed, a bedridden individual is often forced to lie on the bed in an extremely uncomfortable position, until someone comes along to readjust the position of the bed. Therefore, such a type of bed is hardly fit for seriously bedridden individuals.